NYMEX-US crude eases towards $89 on global economy concerns

SINGAPORE Oct 8 U.S. crude eased towards $89 a
barrel on Monday, as concerns over the global economy and
Europe's debt crisis offset support from an unexpected drop in
U.S. unemployment.

FUNDAMENTALS

* NYMEX crude for November delivery dropped 25 cents
to $89.63 a barrel in early Asia trading, after falling nearly
$2 the previous session.

* Brent crude fell 32 cents to $111.70 a barrel.

* The U.S. unemployment rate unexpectedly dropped to 7.8
percent in September and reached its lowest level since
President Barack Obama took office.

* IMF chief Christine Lagarde praised Gulf oil exporters on
Saturday for their help in stabilizing the global economy by
managing oil prices, despite complaints by some Western
countries that energy costs are still too high.

* Hedge funds and other large speculators cut their bets on
higher oil prices for the second straight week, the U.S.
Commodity Futures Trading Commission said on Friday.

* Turkey returned fire after Syrian mortar bombs landed in a
field in southern Turkey on Saturday, the day after Prime
Minister Tayyip Erdogan warned Syria that Turkey would not shy
away from war if provoked.

MARKETS NEWS

* The Group of Seven finance ministers, International
Monetary Fund and World Bank meet in Tokyo this week against the
backdrop of a global economy that shows a glint of stability,
with a deluge of Chinese data due in the coming days at best
expected to confirm that.

* German Chancellor Angela Merkel will make her first visit
to Greece this week since the euro zone debt crisis erupted, in
a show of support for Athens after it said it would run out of
money at the end of November without fresh international aid.

* A disappointing rebound in U.S. housing continues to trip
up the country's overall economic recovery, two influential
Federal Reserve officials said on Friday, highlighting a corner
of the economy that still frustrates monetary policymakers.

* German industrial orders dropped in August as a slide in
domestic demand outweighed an improvement in euro zone
contracts, denting hopes that domestic appetite will sustain
growth in Europe's largest economy.

OSLO, Dec 9 Colombia's peace deal with Marxist
rebels will help the country battle the cocaine trade, President
Juan Manuel Santos said on the eve of collecting a Nobel Peace
Prize that he called a "gift from heaven".